There are only 100 days left until the Toronto municipal elections. This developer may be John Tory’s highest-profile challenger.

A prominent developer has joined the Toronto mayoral race, telling CP24.com that “the city is falling apart” and needs a shakeup in its leadership.

Gil Peñalosa, who is the founder of the nonprofit organization 8 80 Cities, officially submitted his paperwork to run this week.

He is the 12th candidate to throw his hat into the ring so far, but he becomes arguably John Tory’s most high-profile challenger with just 100 days until Torontonians go to the polls on Oct. 24.

“Honestly, I was hoping someone would apply and have worked for them. If (former mayoral candidate) Jennifer Keesmaat had run, if (former city councilmember) Joe Cressy had run, if (former city councilwoman) Kristyn Wong-Tam had run, I would have given my time to work for them,” Peñalosa told CP24. com this week, “If I had seen someone who had similar ideas to running, I wouldn’t have done it, but I don’t see anyone who is really going to fight for affordability, equity and sustainability and not see someone who He is going to fight for a city for everyone.”

Peñalosa has been a long-time advocate for creating better public spaces and has also frequently spoken out on traffic safety issues in the City of Toronto.

He has more than 25,000 followers on Twitter, but is perhaps best known as the founder of 880 Cities, who has worked behind the scenes with more than 350 communities around the world on open street events and other projects aimed at improving public spaces. .

Peñalosa understands the odds are stacked against him to take on a popular incumbent with significant campaign assets like Tory, telling CP24.com he’s “no fool.”

But he says “win or lose,” he hopes to spark a conversation about the city Torontonians want to live in.

For him, this is a city in which public spaces are an “absolute priority” and are financed accordingly.

To that end, he is proposing to cancel the Gardiner Expressway East reconstruction “immediately” and redirect the more than $2 billion budgeted for other initiatives, such as protected bike lanes, new park projects and streetscape improvements.

He also wants to cut red tape that would make it easier for empty parents to convert their existing homes into multi-unit housing, as part of a broader strategy to address the city’s housing crisis.

“Everyone thinks (John) Tory is going to win easily against anybody because that’s what the polls say. But actually I think it’s a shame and I feel bad for Toronto because I think anybody who would run if Tory wasn’t running, I think they should run with Tory running too,” he told CP24.com. “Elections, it’s about ideas, it’s about actions, it’s about coming up with different ideas on how to do things.”

Candidates still have a month to register

Candidates still have until August 19 to register to run for mayor, but with that date fast approaching, it’s possible that no current councilmember will decide to enter the race.

Several high-profile councillors, such as Cressy and Wong Tam, have already left the council.

Ultimately, that could leave Peñalosa, who has never previously sought public office, as Tory’s main challenger from the left.

“Look, I’m not in this for any political calculation. I am not going to run in four years, this is not to position my name. It’s not about finding a job with Tory. It has nothing to do with that,” Peñalosa told CP24.com. “I am not playing political games and I am not making political calculations. I mean, if I was making any political calculations, then I wouldn’t run. But I’m thinking more what am I going to do with my life? Would this be a good contribution to the community I chose? Is this a good way to give back to the city?”

Tory has said that part of her reason for seeking a third term was due to a desire to move forward with some projects that had to be postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He has spoken about wanting to deliver on a commitment to build 40,000 new affordable housing units over the next decade and continue to expand Toronto’s transit system, through projects like the Scarborough Subway Extension and the Ontario Line.

However, he has yet to launch a platform and it’s unclear when he plans to shift his attention to the campaign.

“I have a job to do and it’s a job I take very seriously. I have worked day and night at that job for years and especially during the pandemic and I will continue to do so because I have a responsibility,” he told CP24 in May. “I also hope to participate in a campaign because I would like to put forward some of the thoughts I have for the future, but in the meantime, I am completely busy doing my job as mayor.”

Tory will have a huge name recognition advantage

Of the 11 candidates who have signed up to run against Tory, none, including Penalosa, come close to her profile.

Most don’t even have campaign websites.

There is another somewhat familiar name on the list from Sarah Climenhaga, who finished sixth in the 2018 race with nearly 4,800 votes. Tory finished with almost 480,000, getting about 63 percent of the popular vote.

“I think the city needs something better. I mean, John Tory has done a great job as far as I’m concerned, but I think he could do better. So the question for me is: will I be able to win or not? The question is do I have something to offer and should I present it and share it with other Torontonians.” Climenhaga told CP24.com this week. “You know, if you had an Olympics and just let the most likely win, it would be a pretty boring Olympics.”

Climenhaga told CP24.com that she is “primarily running as a resident” who has raised three children in Toronto and doesn’t need to “go to committee meetings or Zoom conferences” to know what needs fixing.

She says the top issues for her are the same as for many candidates, housing and transit in particular, but she said the city must also be designed in a way that makes sense to its residents.

“The streets are public spaces, so I want everyone to be able to use them. I want people who need to drive to be able to drive in a way that isn’t frustrating and doesn’t get stuck. I want people who want to take public transportation to be able to take a fast public transportation route. who want to walk, whether it’s two blocks or the length of the city, so they can do it without being hit and killed by a motorist,” he said. “I believe that our streets are for all the people of our city. And right now they’re still too focused on trying to move the cars quickly and they’re not even doing that.”

If Tory is re-elected and serves the full four-year term, he would become Toronto’s longest-serving mayor, surpassing Art Eggleton’s 11 years in office.

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